Contrary to what my hairline might tell you, I'm actually not old enough to have played the original incarnation of Space Invaders. My first bout with this legendary title came when I used to try and load up Ghost Busters on the C64. As the tape trickled its data into the C64's goldfish sized memory, you were given the opportunity to pass away the time by playing Space Invaders. I can say with some certainty, that this was a close enough experience to the original that I also enjoyed immensely. Often I'd stop the tape drive (before it had a chance to fail on its own) and simply enjoy blasting alien nasties into their (large) component pixel parts. Some years later, and some more again since the original started swallowing up 100-Yen coins, Taito have come back again with yet another incarnation of the seemingly ubiquitous title, Space Invaders Extreme.
Despite being old enough to question the price of canned peas, in gaming years anyway, Taito seems to be trying its hardest not to look too past it in front of the kids. In so, Space Invaders Extreme ends up being precisely that, Extreme, as well as a little rad, a smidgen to the max and nudge over to the narli side. This is most evident in the music that accompanies the game which scoots across the dance music spectrum from Jungle to Euro Trance (shudder). The result could have easily ended up being massively distracting next to the mostly traditional gameplay, but thankfully has been cleverly fused together. As you fire your railed laser cannon and snuff out the wiggling pixels descending from above, pleasant sound effects both complement and enhance the musical experience, ala Everyday Shooter. The hip factor is further pushed closer to 11 with a psychedelic backdrop, the main purpose of which seems to be distracting the player from the amassing horde of pixelated goons.
The simplistic charm of the original is stripped away further with even more potentially erroneous fluff bolted onto the gameplay. 4 types of weapon power-ups unlocked by 4 respective colours of invader, several enemy types distinguished by attack and method of dispatch, a few bonus stages and a smattering of bosses. Handled without due care and attention each one of these additions could have equalled far less than the sum of its many parts, but somehow Taito appended each whilst carefully balancing out its effects on the rest of the gameplay. One of the many pleasant results of such careful engineering is the accelerated pace at which you can blast through hostile swarms by meticulously targeting your fire towards the bonuses made available by each pattern of enemies. For example, some formations are more susceptible to shooting out the same colour of foe, leading to weapon powerups such as the laser of mass destruction (my own wording). This LMD is then very well suited at terminating single columns of enemies that then lead onto further bonuses. Understanding the bonuses available for certain shooting patterns as well as knowing how to exploit the weaknesses of each layout will be your most direct path to the success.
Game design such as this initially draws you in with charming and enjoyable play, whist subtly allowing you to gradually uncover more effective tactics for handling each wave of enemy. Taito may have taken 30 years to progress this title into a form that is still unlikely to be as survivable as the original but is certainly far less forgettable then its predecessors. If your C64 is getting a little on the wonky side of late, and that Ghost Buster cassette is starting to crap out even before Space Invaders will load, then for you my aged friend, Space Invaders Extreme and a PSP is an essential purchase.
--With Thanks to lime_spider --
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